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Reading in Overdrive

I got myself a new phone recently and replaced my iPhone (with the broken glass back) with a Samsung Galaxy 4. It’s been a bit frustrating learning how to use it, but one app that I came across recently is a must have for book-lovers. It’s called Overdrive, and it’s available for almost any phone (even the ones with glass backs…) as well as for Kindles and Nooks, and computers.

What it does is brilliant. To backtrack a little – I know my local library has had e-books I can ‘borrow’ for years, but I have never managed to work out how to do it easily. It always seemed complicated, and maybe it was. Or maybe it was just me. Overdrive makes it really simple. I downloaded the app, which then asked me for my zip code, and provided me with a list of libraries with digital collections. You need to be a library member, so I chose my local one and was immediately given a list of e-books I could borrow, or put a hold on.

In addition, and this is fabulous, it allows me to download audiobooks so long as the library has them available. This used to require a special piece of equipment, (I had something called a Zen) since it wouldn’t work with certain formats, like glass-backed phones. Plus, downloading was tedious and not always successful.

So Overdrive is a godsend. I have downloaded the latest Janet Evanovich novel (It is summer, after all) as an e-book. When I did so, it asked me where I would like it delivered, so I chose my Kindle, and voila! There it was (on my phone and my Kindle Fire) just like a purchased book, except that it will disappear if I haven’t read it within 3 weeks. And I am in line for the audiobook of The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes. Overdrive, my new best friend, will tell me when it’s ready.